Groovy Pelican receives Enrichment Award from Peter Symonds College for establishing Symonds Radio

On Thursday 14th September, Outreach Radio’s Onur Şen-Chadun AKA The Groovy Pelican received the Enrichment Award at the annual Peter Symonds College awards ceremony for his efforts in establishing college radio station, Symonds Radio.

The award was presented by former Peter Symonds College student and BBC TV and radio presenter and reporter Betty Glover, who now works for Radio 1 & 1xtra Newsbeat, and is also a regular reporter on Final Score, 5live sport on Saturdays, Football Focus, The Hundred cricket and covers netball for 5live.

Whilst receiving his award, Onur’s citation was read out by Deputy Principal Nick Allen, and stated,

Onur established PSC Radio Enrichment and then visionary leadership fostered educational and creative growth withing the student community.
Onur’s unwavering commitment and ingenious approach have undeniably left an indelible mark on the college, and are testament to the transformative power of student driven endeavours.

Onur established Symonds Radio in May 2021 whilst in his first year of A-Level studies, and through his relationship with Outreach Radio enabled programmes and live broadcasts from Symonds Radio  to be delivered across the airwaves of Hampshire by the 2022/23 student cohort, providing them with valuable skills and broadcast experience.

In response to the award, Onur’s social media feed showed the following statement:

Many thanks to everyone at Peter Symonds College for recognising the work I’ve done through Symonds Radio – as much as I was the person who kicked it all off, I couldn’t have done it without the help of all the students and staff at the college, as well as the volunteers at Outreach Radio for supporting the enrichment through its first full year of programming.
I can’t go without naming specific people, so many thanks to the following:
– Kitty Yarwood and Sam Jones at the PSC Enrichment Department for helping us set up the enrichment, and providing us with the capability to broadcast live from two consecutive Freshers Fairs
– The volunteers at Outreach Radio for giving the students of PSC a voice on the airwaves
– The team at PSC Student Services for inviting us to broadcast live from last year’s Prom
– Mia, Zac and Will from the Student Union for also inviting us to Prom, and also for their participation in many a Symonds Radio programme
– Jo Thomas and Michael Johnson from the Politics Department for providing the opportunity to conduct great interviews with members of staff at Freshers Fairs and during Industrial Action, as well as with guest speakers on behalf of the PPE society
– The EDI Department for also providing many interviews with guest speakers and students, as well as inviting us to the college’s first Culture Day
– And most importantly, the 22/23 cohort. In no particular order, massive thanks to Tom, Juliet, Alicia, Matilda W., Ollie, Freya, Rebecca, Libby, Josh, Lauren and Nate for taking part!
Symonds Radio will return very soon, with new programmes and new members joining later this month. Keep an eye out for the latest updates over on their Instagram (@symondsradio)!

Outreach Radio extends the warmest congratulations to Onur, and wishes him the all the very best as he transitions to University.  He informs us that he will be hoping to continue his Monday evening radio show on Outreach Radio via the University student radio station, which he is very excited to be joining.

As Onur departs from Peter Symonds College, he passes the Symonds Radio baton to the next generation 2023/24 cohort of students, with whom Outreach Radio are looking forward to supporting as they, like Onur and the 2022/23 cohort, begin to learn about the wonderful world of radio broadcasting.

For more information about Symonds Radio, please click here.

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